Arts, Briefly; The Speed of 'Light'

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER

Published: October 12, 2004

The world premiere of the 29-hour ''Licht'' (''Light'') cycle by the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, right, is planned at the European Center for the Arts Hellerau in Dresden, Germany, in 2008, the year of his 80th birthday. Parts of the cycle, which Stockhausen began composing in 1977, have been staged in recent years at La Scala in Milan and in Leipzig, Germany. The closing scene, ''Licht-Bilder'' (''Light Pictures''), from the final ''Sonntag aus Licht'' (''Sunday From Light''), was completed in December 2002 and is scheduled to have its world premiere on Saturday at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in southern Germany. The Hellerau festival chief, Udo Zimmermann, said the planned 29-hour performance of ''Licht'' will cost $12.2 million, which has yet to be raised. KIRSTEN GRIESHABER